Pitches: Curveballs, Sliders and the Infamous Wild Pitch, Part I

For the first time ever, we will be offering Pitch Sessions at the 2009 SCWW Conference in October. For only ten dollars, you can meet with an agent or editor and introduce them to your work. But since some of you are new to the business end of publishing, I wanted to take the time to explain these sessions so you can get the biggest bang for your buck.

Let’s start with the fundamentals of pitching. A pitch session is a one on one meeting with an agent or editor. You will have five minutes to “pitch” your novel and the agent or editor will have five minutes to respond. The agent or editor will not have any notes on your work. They will be counting on your verbal pitch to sell them on your writing. Learning to pitch effectively is a very important step in turning your manuscript into a published work. These short meetings give you a chance to share your book with a professional and get feedback on the marketability of your story.

Make sure you are PROFESSIONAL and PREPARED. There’s nothing that will kill your chances any faster than coming to the meeting in unprofessional clothes or not having any idea what your book is really about. Since the agent or editor won’t have any notes on your work, you’re the only one in the session who can describe it. Spend time on your hook sentence. And spend time on your delivery. You need to be relaxed and confident by the time you get to the meeting, so that means you need to know your own work, inside and out.

More about Pitches—specifically Sliders, Curveballs, and Wild Pitches—-tomorrow. In the meantime, check out Scott Eagan’s thoughts on Pitch Sessions by following the link below.